City Councilmen James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio, both Republicans from Staten Island, are "pressing Mayor Bloomberg and his bike-loving transportation chief to require that any new bicycle lanes go through the same exhaustive public review as other road changes," according to an article in today's edition of The New York Post by Sally Goldenberg.
Mr. Oddo, who is the minority leader of the council, told The Post that plans "for new bike lanes should undergo the city's lengthy environmental assessment process, or the city should allow other, more minor traffic changes to bypass the review."
"To add one left-handed turning lane [on Staten Island, it's taking us eight to 12 years, yet there have been all of these bike lanes installed without any bumps in the broad. How is that possible?" Mr. Oddo asked.
The councilmen sent a letter last week, according to the article, demanded an explanation from Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, of why the lanes don't require the scrutiny.
The letter noted that "the creation of bike lanes and the removal of vehicle travel lanes represent a major reordering of Department of Transportation priorities that may affect the environmental and appear to qualify" for a formal environmental review.
The article said that Seth Solomonow, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, defended the policy and said "our job is to improve mobility and safety on city streets and this kind of review is not necessary for any routine street changes we make to improve safety," adding that since "Bloomberg took office in 2002, the city has added 373 miles of bike lanes."
Another article in the same edition and on the same page said that the Police Department has started a crackdown on cyclists who do not heed the city's traffic regulations.
The article by John Doyle and Todd Venezia said that the department is "sick" of brazen bicyclists and intends to "slam the brakes on riders' out-of-control behavior."
"Sources said that law-breaking by cyclists has become the top quality-of-life complaint in some neighborhoods," the article said, adding that "Normal Steisel of the advocacy group Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes, said he thought there was definitely a need for the crackdown."
Mr. Oddo, who is the minority leader of the council, told The Post that plans "for new bike lanes should undergo the city's lengthy environmental assessment process, or the city should allow other, more minor traffic changes to bypass the review."
"To add one left-handed turning lane [on Staten Island, it's taking us eight to 12 years, yet there have been all of these bike lanes installed without any bumps in the broad. How is that possible?" Mr. Oddo asked.
The councilmen sent a letter last week, according to the article, demanded an explanation from Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, of why the lanes don't require the scrutiny.
The letter noted that "the creation of bike lanes and the removal of vehicle travel lanes represent a major reordering of Department of Transportation priorities that may affect the environmental and appear to qualify" for a formal environmental review.
The article said that Seth Solomonow, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, defended the policy and said "our job is to improve mobility and safety on city streets and this kind of review is not necessary for any routine street changes we make to improve safety," adding that since "Bloomberg took office in 2002, the city has added 373 miles of bike lanes."
Another article in the same edition and on the same page said that the Police Department has started a crackdown on cyclists who do not heed the city's traffic regulations.
The article by John Doyle and Todd Venezia said that the department is "sick" of brazen bicyclists and intends to "slam the brakes on riders' out-of-control behavior."
"Sources said that law-breaking by cyclists has become the top quality-of-life complaint in some neighborhoods," the article said, adding that "Normal Steisel of the advocacy group Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes, said he thought there was definitely a need for the crackdown."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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